Goldies Ice Cream Shoppe

We drove through a snowstorm to dine on the pork tenderloin sandwich at Goldie’s. It did not disappoint. There is a reason why this was selected as the best in Iowa!
The diner is rather small but we were seated quickly and our waitress was friendly and helpful. We of course ordered the tenderloin and it was large, crispy and meaty. I asked for extra pickles and they accommodated. Food was hot and fresh and the fries were excellent as well. We will definitely stop here again if we are in the area!

We just fell into this place while passing through because we were on the road and starving. Had no idea what a lucky break we’d gotten. If you are driving anywhere near Prairie City and need a bite to eat, please, go to Goldie’s. You won’t be disappointed.
Old fashioned prices and home town service combine with a delightful diner menu complimented by Goldie’s own ice cream, on top of real pie, for instance. How real, you ask? Well, I asked our waitress, «Who made this gooseberry pie, because it’s absolutely delicious?» Her reply: Linda B.. .. , a local woman. No kidding. Linda makes all their pies from scratch.
Oh, need I mention, the slice of pie cost $ 2.75 and 50 cents more if you add ice cream. What more is there to say.

GOLDIES… whatcanI say??? FANTASTIC! comes to mind.
I grew-​up in DesMoines and MILLIE’S tenderloins was the place to go to for GREAT food. Our Govenor had his own parking space reserved, and set aside for him. Millie’s closed years ago, with nothing to compare to it since.
After I moved to COLFAX, Ia., everyone said «you have to try» GOLDIES in PRAIRIE CITY for their tenderloins. To make a short story… LONG…I did and I was ecstatic
GOLDIES is GREAT food, service, and prices, also a dream come true.

We sat outside and the first thing we noticed was how clean the tables were. All too often when a diner has outdoor seating they are unattended and dingy. While we were there we saw people with license plates from Georgia, Ontario, Colorado, and Tennessee. The tenderloin was without question one of the best we’ve had. The breading was golden brown and the Goldie’s fries were crispy and perfect.

We do not get here enough! Known for their tenderloins (voted best in Iowa) and ice cream. We stop in whenever we are in town. The tenderloins are larger than life! You have got to have one, or maybe half. Oh my just got our dessert! Love this place, the food and service are great.

I travel through Iowa every couple of years and this is the best pork tenderloin I have had yet. It had a great small town diner feel. The wait can be a little long for non-​locals but that is what you should expect in a small town.
P. S. I order another pork tenderloin for the road.

You just can’t go wrong here! After over six months of living in Prairie City I have yet to have anything but good food and amazing ice cream at Goldie’s.
Make sure to drive thru at least once a week to grab a cone of the flavor of the week but also stop in and try the tenderloin strips with a monster cookie twister. Amaaaazing!

We were very disappointed after hearing how good the Tenderloin was. It was real evevident that the locales were severed first. The fries were cold, and the tenderloin was so so. The waitress was more interested in going outside to smoke than taking care of the customer.
Won’t be back, and we wouldn’t recommend.

Really good simple food. You don’t go to Goldie’s looking for fine dining. You go to Goldie’s to get great diner food and great ice cream. First off the service is tremendous. They really make you feel as if you are a part of the family. I had the bacon cheese burger with onion rings. While the burger was a bit overdone to my liking the meat that was used to make the burger was excellent. You could tell that the meat was not frozen and from their farm. Great flavor. My kids had the burgers and the Goldie’s fries. A hush came upon the table as we all ate. No one spoke for a few minutes because they all enjoyed their food and their mouths were full. They even went the extra mile to find dairy free options for my son who is allergic to dairy products. The Goldie’s fries are awesome they are buttermilk battered and then fried crisp. We had twisters for dessert. Be warned the twisters are huge even the small size. We couldn’t finish ours and had to bring ours home.
Bottom line this is a great family friendly restaurant with great service. We will be back often.

Stopped in while passing through. What a fabulous place! Had a burger and shake. Great thick shake with real fruit in it. Good generous burger and I only had the ¹⁄₃ pounder… could have had the ²⁄₃ pounder. Great old style joint. Lots of fun.

I have now eaten at Goldie’s four times, trying various things. My last stop was a repeat on the tenderloin. Again, I maintain the three star rating. The T-​loin is made with real meat, not ground, over tenderized or fabricated. It is reasonably thick and was fried just right so that it was juicy and tender. The big issue is that the pork has absolutely no flavor. You could blindfold a person and they would not know what kind of meat it is. For breeding all of the flavor out of today’s pork, the Iowa Pork Producers should be ashamed.
The chili on this day was inedible. I left half of it, which I never do. It was over tomatoed, too sour and bitter like they scorched the chile.

Visited Goldie’s twice while visiting my family in Baxter, and I loved it! The pork tenderloin sandwich… I was skeptical. I don’t know why, I imagined it being something totally different, and probably would not have ordered it if my cousin hadn’t been so full of praise for it on the way there. And I was so pleasantly surprised by it! It was delicious! Thinly pounded pork, fried crispy golden but not greasy, on a bun with pickles. It is twice as big as the bun, so I had to cut off the extra with my knife to eat it, not that I’m complaining. It was so delicious! I ate every bite and have craved another off and on in the 7 months since I was there. We have nothing like it down here in GA. Even though I live near Willie’s Weenie Wagon and their «world famous pork chop sandwich», it’s nothing like it. (A pork chop to me is a solid piece of meat, but according to Willie’s it’s chopped pork. I think this is why I was skeptical of Goldie’s pork sandwich to begin with.)
Second time we visited was on the way to the airport in Des Moines to go home, and I wasn’t hungry enough to get a sandwich or I would have! I just had an Oreo twister and it was really yummy. Will definitely be going back as soon as I can — hopefully this summer!

Review stars based on what this place is, a neighborhood diner. Actually, it’s more of a small town diner, to be exact.
Formerly only a soft serve ice cream shop. They still have soft serve, and it is a small town diner with a difference. The difference is the owner. Although still very young, he has been in the food business for many years.
Much of what is served here has a basis in the family. Much of the remainder has it’s roots locally. For example, the meat is grown and processed within 10 miles of this place.
Tenderloins, breaded or not, are some of the best in the state. The side dishes alone are worth the drive. Daily specials are usually good old down home comfort food. It’s about a 30 minute drive East of Des Moines on a new, divided highway that is easy to drive.
While the prices are very reasonable, the quality is well above average. The staff is friendly, especially the owner and his family. They are truely nice people running an excellent place.